BOSTON - The Patrick administration and state legislators from Springfield yesterday agreed on a bill that would give the city 15 years to pay back a $52 million state loan, or three more than the governor originally proposed last month.
The bill needs approval of the state House of Representatives and the Senate to become law, and the governor would also need to sign the legislation.
Because it would further stretch out the period for retiring the loan, the plan could save the city roughly $1 million a year in payments on the loan.
The revision was made in a bill that Gov. Deval L. Patrick submitted last month to improve the operation of city government. Patrick's bill gave Springfield 12 years to pay back the state loan, a period that was upped to 15 years yesterday.
"That extra three years will give us some substantial leeway," said Rep. Sean F. Curran, D-Springfield.
Under a 2004 law that authorized the no-interest state loan and created the Springfield Finance Control Board to oversee city finances, Springfield is required to pay back the money over five years, or $10 million a year. That could mean some cuts in city services unless a bill is passed to extend the payback period.
State Reps. Cheryl A. Coakley-Rivera, Benjamin Swan and Angelo J. Puppolo Jr., all Springfield Democrats, joined Curran yesterday in spelling out some changes to Patrick's legislation.
They said they negotiated the changes in private with David E. Sullivan, lawyer for the state Executive Office of Administration and Finance.
"This is a better bill clearly for the citizens of Springfield," Coakley-Rivera said.
Legislators had originally wanted to give the city 20 years to repay the loan.
